Extras:
Audio commentary by director Kathryn Bigelow,
Living In Darkness documentary, deleted scene, theatrical trailers,
storyboards, still gallery, talet bios, DVD ROM screenplay and
screensavers.
Director:
Kathryn Bigelow
Screenplay:
Kathryn Bigelow and Eric Reid
Cast:
Caleb: Adrian Pasdar
Mae: Jenny Wright
Jesse: Lance Henriksen
Diamondback: Jenette Goldstein
Severen: Bill Paxton
Caleb's father: Tim Thomersen
Here I am again, reviewing yet another movie from the 80s
that debuted poorly but found it's audience on video. Just how this movie never says
the word vampire, I will never say the phrase cult following throughout
the review.
Anchor Bay has given into the onslaught of fans who want to replace
their murky VHS tape. It isn't like Anchor Bay to let their fans down
and they didn't. Anyone that has no respect for this great studio should
take a look at this release and
Mad Monster Party.
Anchor Bay continues
to please fans and in turn have debuted a great offering for the large
fan base this movie has acquired over the past 15 years.
Near Dark has a simple story but it's complex and interesting characters
make it enjoyable. One Alabama summer night, small town boy Caleb is
talking with some friends. Suddenly he sees this beautiful girl and is
prompted to talk to her. He gives in and begins driving with her. After
a few odd moments, the woman bites him on the neck and takes off before
the sun comes out. Caleb disregards it as nothing and heads home.
Suddenly the sun begins burning him alive and an RV takes him before
reaching home.
Inside the RV are a set of vampire drifters. These are the real heart of
the movie. We've got the enigmatic yet cool Jesse, then there's the
sexy girlfriend of Jesse, Diamondback, then one of Bill Paxton's best
roles as Severen, Mae the woman who turned Caleb, and a boy that is
older than any of them yet appears to be a kid on the outside, Homer.
They wish to kill Caleb but they discover he's already turned.
Reluctantly, they take him in.
Being a vampire is tough for Caleb. He has no wishes to kill for food
and Mae must help him out. The drifters give him one more chance to
prove himself or he's out.
This is a cool genre-splicing experiment which came off well. Mixing a
western with a vampire movie proves successful and gives the film a cool
atmosphere. The vampires in this movie are quite different. They are
weak against sunlight but bite marks are not on their necks. Never is
the word vampire uttered. Like I said before, the characters are what
drive this film. But there's some cool scenes in there as well. Watch
the bar scene and the well done climax and tell me you're not impressed.
However good it may be, there are a few flaws that should be adressed.
Some scenes like Caleb in the bus station are screaming to be cut, but
at 94 minutes it still works.
Anchor Bay realized that this was one of their most valuable properties
and pulled out all the stops for the video presentation. The transfer is
very clean with only a hint of grain and some hard to notice
pixelization only on background objects. The only other complaint is
that in the beginning there's a lot of scratches on the print but they
dissapear once the film begins. Overall, this is one of Anchor Bay's
best transfers.
Sound is presented in two offerings. Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby
Surround 2.0 are offered in English only. Both tracks are effective and
I had no problems with dialogue interlacing.
Anchor Bay has put all the extras, bar the first one, on the second disc.
Here's how it stacks up:
Audio Commentary with director Kathryn Bigelow.:
Would have been cool
to see all the cast members return but still works.
Living in Darkness:
An original all new 47 minute long documentary.
Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic. Very interesting and features most of
the cast and crew in a series of interviews.
Trailers:
Two theatrical trailers are presented here. Both are
anamorphic. The first trailer is somewhat cool but doesn't give a hint
to the overall story. The second while boring does give into the story
and is put together well.
Deleted Scene:
A dream sequence that was shot in black and white with
infared to simulate what Caleb was seeing in the dark. Commentary with
Kathryn Bigelow is not optional but there is no dialouge in the scene so
this is fine.
Storyboards:
Several key scenes are broken down to show the original vision.
Still Galleries:
Several photos ranging from promotion to prop photos.
Includes posters as well.
DVD ROM features:
The original screenplay and some screensavers are included.
The packaging is quite elaborate for Anchor Bay. It's cardboard but folds
out on a slip case with pictures of the actors on each panel. The first
disc says NEAR and the second says DARK. Also included is a 16 page book
with posters and notes about the release. A cleverly designed package.
The menus feature scenes from the film and music in the background. The
only complaint I have about the menus, and this is on every Anchor Bay
title, is that the scene selections are only hinted by text. There's not
still frames or anything. A little nack, that's all.
Overall, fans of the movie have been waiting for the definitive release
of this movie and here it is. I found it very enjoyable and the DVD
package is put together nicely. A solid effort from one of the best
studios in the DVD business.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
